Carl Gottfried Theodor Winkler

Carl Gottfried Theodor Winkler, also known under the pseudonym Theodor Hell, was a German poet, entrepreneur and journalist, born in Waldenburg on 9 February 1775 and died in Dresden on 24 September 1856. His significance lies in the influence he exercised on the musical and theatrical life of Dresden, the city in which he spent most of his career.

The son of Gottfried Winkler, who was archdeacon in Waldenburg and, from 1779, deacon of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, he trained as a lawyer before turning to writing, criticism, translation and editing. He was a mentor to the circle around Friedrich Kind, the Liederkreis, served as deputy director of the court theatre and founded the Dresdner Abendzeitung, of which he was editor. A friend of Weber, he acted as guardian to Weber's orphaned children.

His translation of Planché's libretto for Oberon is, it seems, not of great quality, but he did write a notable text for Die drei Pintos. He was also responsible for the first collection of Weber's writings, Hinterlassene Schriften, published in Dresden in 1828. Among the first Germans to appreciate the work of Meyerbeer, he thus left a lasting mark on the dissemination of the opera of his time.